Saint Onuphrius

Saint Onufry, one of the so-called Desert Fathers, lived in 4th-century Egypt. He was a hermit, spending most of his life in seclusion in the Thebaid Desert. According to legends, the saint came from Persia, from a royal family, but renounced his titles and possessions, devoting himself to prayer.

The iconography of the saint usually depicts his ascetic lifestyle: Onufry's only clothing is a hip-band and exceptionally long hair and beard. However, the image from the collection of the National Museum in Lublin has elements testifying to his royal origin since aside, in the corner of the picture field, there is a crown and a sceptre. The representation also contains other references to the accounts of the saint's life: on the right there is a spring which was supposed to gush out in the place where the saint stayed; behind it there is a lion which was supposed to dig out the place where the hermit was buried. The staff and the fruit and vegetables shown in front of Onufry signify the protection of God, who sent food to the saint through an angelic messenger. The Holy Trinity, shown in the sky, watches over the hermit.

The representation betrays many influences of Western painting, typical of the workshops of the cultural borderland. They are indicated by the kneeling pose of the saint, the Holy Trinity in the New Testament type, the radiant Gloria, putti and striving for realistic depiction of the landscape. These motifs are not found on canonical icons, but are part of the repertoire of forms characteristic of 18th century Western art. The image was created in the middle of the century, which is confirmed by the foundation inscription written in Cyrillic letters above the lower edge of the painting: "This icon was made by the servant of God Gregory Dudicz and the servant of God Stefan Puhoj for the Sosnowska Church in the year of God 1744, month of May, day of [...]".